In today’s 24x7 data center it’s more important than ever to make efficient use of resources and strive for low total cost of ownership (TCO). With technology evolving so quickly, it doesn’t make sense to deploy more equipment than you need. But that’s exactly what's happened in many enterprise data centers.

The typical IT environment is an accumulation of disparate under-utilized platforms that are geographically dispersed. It’s not unusual to see arrays of servers, each loaded with but a single application, humming away contentedly, while operating at less than 10 percent of capacity.

Similarly, many data centers are still using standalone storage devices that are tied to a single server. Together, this means added expenses in hardware, maintenance and in managing an unwieldy IT environment.

“Data center management continues to become more complex, with a multitude of operating systems and applications on outdated devices.  For IT shops to enable their businesses, they need to aggregate systems and best practices, which will lead to much better scalability and manageability,” says Jay Parker, Dell’s director of server product marketing.

Consolidation and Scalability

Enterprises that want to use their assets more efficiently are turning to consolidation to create a scalable architecture that supports growth. Consolidation may not be new to IT veterans, but it is an increasingly important and effective way to manage IT assets.

Consolidation fits neatly into a Scale Out approach, freeing data centers from the need to buy excess server and storage capacity. Savvy IT managers are consolidating with platforms that are based on open standards to avoid being tied to proprietary solutions that might not be flexible enough to meet next year’s business requirements.

Consolidating for Manageability and Performance

Server and storage consolidation have three major benefits.

• Enterprises can reduce capital costs by using fewer, newer servers and shared storage, paying for fewer software licenses and simplifying administration.
• By standardizing on fewer platforms, data center administrators can use a common set of management tools to improve control, availability and security.
• Consolidation can deliver improved service levels and availability, freeing IT staff to focus on other activities.

Today’s industry-standard servers with dual-core processors along with tiered, networked storage are excellent platforms with which to jump-start consolidation. Open standards systems deliver unparalleled flexibility and economy and are compatible with a range of industry-leading management tools. And current server offerings are designed to help address the power and cooling issues facing today’s data center manager.

“Consolidating on new servers with the latest in technology, combined with well defined policies on commonality and stability, can dramatically reduce TCO and improve performance,” says Jay Parker.  “As computing power continues to standardize in denser packages, server utilization will increase and infrastructure management will be simplified.”

A variety of consolidation options

Although consolidation is frequently referred to as a single term, there are actually several types of consolidation which should be considered and evaluated across your environment:

• Logical consolidation: Focuses on achieving consistency and control across the IT environment by the application of common policies, procedures and best practices. This is a recommended first step and solid foundation for other systems-level consolidation.
• Physical consolidation: A good starting point for many consolidation initiatives, is the process of reducing the number of disparate data centers, or “islands of operation”, to streamline operations and achieve simpler manageability.
• Workload consolidation moves single applications that reside on several or many servers and storage systems to fewer, more powerful systems to achieve simplified management and deployment, and improved utilization and performance.
• Application consolidation aggregates distinct applications onto fewer servers and shared storage using virtualization and partitioning. This can significantly boost utilization, but also takes the most planning and testing to make sure performance levels are maintained or improved.
• Storage consolidation combines storage resources with a move to centralized, networked and tiered storage to create a more manageable environment with better utilization and scalability for growth.

Keep going or get started

Server/storage consolidation is now “business as usual” for many IT operations. It is a healthy IT practice to always be looking for opportunities to consolidate, especially in a way that will provide flexibility, choice and control over your IT environment. Scaling out with industry-standard components is the best way to avoid the pitfalls and challenges of being locked-in to a proprietary solution.

If you’re already on a path of regular consolidation, you’re on the right course and setting yourself up for a successful future. If not, you need to get started. There are many opportunities to jump-start consolidation-- when you upgrade or migrate to a new OS, when you deploy new applications, when older systems come off lease or need a new maintenance agreement, when it’s time to replace old legacy applications and, of course, when you need to deploy new systems or move to a new facility.

Dell: Making it happen

Moving to a more flexible, better-performing IT environment with lower TCO is easier than you might think. As the leading server vendor in the U.S. and one of the fastest growing major storage providers, Dell has the right tools, products, and services to help address the key stages of consolidation. Dell's extensive PowerEdge TM server family delivers the high performance, availability and scalability you want in a consolidated environment. Combine this with high performance, scalable Dell/EMC networked storage systems and you have the ideal consolidation platforms.

Dell Services can help you baseline your current environment, develop a consolidation strategy, project an estimated ROI, and create a detailed implementation plan. Then, with Dell’s support, you’ll be ready to confirm your plan through pilots and proof-of-concept, execute the consolidation, and administer your new environment. Throughout the process and beyond, Dell Services will provide you with a single point of contact.